Rapid appraisal of child labour in the tobacco industry: Philippines, PARTNERS: February 2002

A rapid appraisal of child labour in the tobacco industry in the Philippines was conducted by PARTNERS International for Philip Morris International.

Aim of the research

The research aimed to provide a bird’s eye view of child labour in tobacco production in the Philippines, within the provinces of Ilocos Sur and La Union. The aims were to:

1. Estimate the incidence of child workers in Ilocos Sur and La Union;
2. Describe the situation of child workers in selected areas;
3. Document existing programs addressing child labor among governmental and nongovernmental agencies in the two provinces;
4. Identify possible areas for programme intervention.

Summary

Incidence and attitude to child labour

The use of young children below the age of 15 for labour is a common phenomenon in the tobacco farms of La Union and Ilocos Sur. Tobacco production is inherently a family enterprise among tenant farmers and leaseholders in the barangays visited, where the average size of the areas under production is half a hectare. Thus, it is not unusual to find all members of a family in a household at work on tobacco farming, including older and younger adults and children of all ages. Both women and men spend time on farming, and this extends to boy and girl children. The norm of working together on tobacco farming is so ingrained that parents may scold or hit children who are recalcitrant, or would rather do something else whist there is farm work to be done. The parents’ attitudes keep the children in line and they do what they are told. Children are taught at young ages (from four years of age) simple tasks related to tobacco production, like watering the plants, weeding and panagtudok.
Eventually, the children help their parents, older siblings and other relatives in all phases of tobacco cultivation – from seedbed preparation to post-curing – engaging in more difficult activities as they grow older.

Supervision

Observations suggest children undertake many of the tasks with older members of the family. For instance, a child may hold the hose to help his father or grandfather water the plants. An older boy helps carry the chemical sprayer to the fields for his father. Mother and daughter together water the young plants. Cousins go off to the farms together to weed the tobacco. Panagtudok is essentially the work of women and children sitting around in groups. In many cases, therefore, children’s work happens under the supervision of parents and other relatives.

The work assigned to children is not always time-consuming and they are able to finish their tasks before they go to school and upon their return in the
afternoons. Given the fact that tobacco growing commences in October or November and extends to March or April, school vacations provide time for
children to be more intensively engaged in tobacco production. The average amount of time that children spend working on tobacco farms is two to four hours.
However, on weekends, they may work for as long as ten hours, especially when the activity involved is panagtudok, sticking tobacco on the bamboo poles.

Remuneration

The remuneration derived from children’s work is low, given the fact that they are usually given only P 20 for part-time work. This is far below the average nominal wages of adult workers, which was determined to be P 141 per day in Region I in March 2001. Some tasks are unpaid, like watering, weeding and cultivation (gulis). Arrangements for payment and the cost of children’s labour vary across family enterprises and barangays. Boys tend to be paid more than girls for similar work.  Children’s work serves to keep down the cost of tobacco production.

Attitudes to child labour in tobacco production

The research determined that, to date, there is no programme of government that directly addresses the issue of child labor in the tobacco industry within Region I.
Programmes and efforts of agencies implementing the National Plan for Child Labour focus on children in tourism and entertainment rather than on the plight of
agricultural child workers. The National Tobacco Administration concerns itself with providing financial and technical assistance to tobacco growers, ignoring completely
the risks to children emanating from agricultural work. Consciousness about the need to extend child protection to children at work in tobacco production is not
evident among the regional line agencies. Neither do barangay officials nor other community workers perceive child labour as an issue. Instead, these community
gatekeepers look at children’s work participation as part of their childhood responsibilities, which they need to fulfill as obedient children and productive
members of their families and communities. Parents share this view of children at work.

Hazardous work

A significant area of concern that emerges from the study has to do with the physical and health hazards associated with tobacco production. Children have been observed to work on farms under conditions that can be deleterious to their health. They toil in positions straining their limbs under the scorching heat of the sun. They often wear no protective clothing against sharp or hot objects or chemicals.
Children use their bare hands in panag-tudok and fertilizer application. In the barangays of Candon, older children continue to be involved in tobacco curing
activities, which involves other risks to health. Yet, parents and the children themselves are apparently unaware that there are protective measures that are
important to safeguard the health of children.

Recommendations

On the basis of the findings of this Rapid Appraisal of child labor in selected barangays of La Union and Ilocos Sur, the following recommendations are
made:

Information campaign on child labour

It is evident from this study that there is very little awareness of the issues facing children working in tobacco production. Government officials have not studied the
phenomenon, much less designed programmes to address the need for child protection in tobacco growing. Community influences, parents and children are also unaware
that there are risks to children’s wellbeing that may occur as a result of their work in tobacco farms. The notion that children’s work is part of their socialization is a dominant theme.
Yet, the findings of this study describe certain areas that may require attention. For instance, communities have to be made more aware of the rights of children to safety, education and good health. They need to be informed of their responsibility to protect and safeguard their children against the potentially hazardous effects of child labor in tobacco production. In instances where the children are full-time workers, their rights as young workers have to be safeguarded. Working conditions need to be examined, including the conditions and terms of payment.
An information campaign should target various groups: regional offices of government and local government units, tobacco producers, parents and their
children.

Comprehensive research needed

The rapid appraisal conducted has revealed the ‘tip of the iceberg.’ Much more needs to be studied concerning the plight of child workers in the tobacco industry. Themes of a more comprehensive study should include the following:

• Regional description of the incidence of child labor in tobacco growing barangays, across provinces, as a way of identifying areas where the children are more disadvantaged
• Work patterns and work conditions in family enterprises engaged in tobacco production, to identify the range of risks and issues that require child protection measures
• Analysis of the impacts of children’s participation in tobacco production on their health, nutrition, education, values and world views, as a means of identifying useful entry points for programme interventions by government agencies, NGOs and the private sector.

Child Protection Measures

Several strategies and directions can be immediately undertaken to alleviate the situation of child workers and to guarantee respect of their rights. Among these are:

• formulation of municipal ordinances specifically for the protection of working children against exploitation and hazardous forms of employment;
• formation of a regional or provincial inter-agency committee to address the situation of child workers in the tobacco industry;
• activation and strengthening of the Barangay Councils for the Protection of Children, with special efforts to educate and capacitate them to address child labour;
• for NTA, to include a monitoring system in its extension efforts in order to assess the extent of child labor in the tobacco industry and to provide child-focused services among its programmes in the communities;
• for local governments, to monitor children’s work participation in tobaccogrowing barangays, as a factor that may negatively affect their health condition.

Community Development

It has been observed that child labour is more likely in families that are economically strapped. The tobacco industry has experienced major setbacks in the past several years and has yet to recover. These conditions will make child labour utilization a more likely phenomenon. Assistance to poor farmers, their families and communities become important in this respect. Given the living conditions of the tobacco farmers, their children and barangays, the following measures are recommended:

• To expand the provision of economic assistance and livelihood projects to tobacco-growing families, especially as a way of preventing their victimization from loan sharks and unscrupulous traders;
• To encourage farmers to apply the integrated farming system approach, which enjoins them to plant a diverse variety of crops at different times inthe year, in order to offset the dire effects of losses from mono-cropping;
• To establish elementary schools within the barangays of Parioc II and Baracbac Este, so that the inaccessibility of schools does not become a reason for dropping-out of school among its young population.

The experience of child labour has been proven to exist in the Ilocos provinces. While their work conditions are not alarming, measures still have to be put into place in order to enhance the rights and welfare of children. To paraphrase the UNICEF (2001), it is the right of the child to have the “best possible start in life.”

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